Cloning, Expression and Polymorphisms of the 3' UTR of Ovine NOBOX Gene

The oocyte-specific transcription factor newborn ovary homeobox (NOBOX) plays essential roles in regulating various stages of oogenesis, folliculogenesis and early embryonic development. The nucleotide sequence of 3'-untranslated region (3’UTR) of the ovine NOBOX gene (Accession No. KM090856) is detailed in the present report. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the ovine NOBOX transcript was mainly expressed in ovary. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in 3’UTR of NOBOX gene and two restriction site for endonuclease NOBOX-AfaI and NOBOX-BalI had also been found. Moreover, for the first time an association was reported between NOBOX gene polymorphism and prolificacy traits in Small Tailed Han sheep. Marker-trait association analyses showed that the NOBOX-AfaI and NOBOX-BalI genotypes had significant effect on the litter size traits in small tailed han ewes (p less than 0.05). In conclusion, these preliminary results indicated that NOBOX-AfaI and NOBOX-BalI loci in NOBOX gene may be a potential marker for improving prolificacy traits in sheep.